Do I look OBESE? Pic included

[letmehaveathink]

So apparently I’m obese according to the NHS website. I definitely have a belly but I don’t feel obese! What do you think? I’m worried I’m deluded!

Does it matter?
I don't think these threads help anyone at all.
If your BMI is classed as obese, you need to make changes. How you look does not matter.

You're not obese. Your BMI puts you at overweight.

At that weight and and height you are overweight aren’t you? Not obese. You’d need to be 77kg to be obese (12st 2).

At 5 ft 3 and 11st 4lbs, your BMI would be 28. Overweight, but not obese (unless you are of Asian ethnicity where the BMI threshold is 27.5 I think)

Dreadful photo, but yes, you could be slightly in that category. What’s your BMI?

Oh I hadn't heard anything about this.
I've just googled it.
Thanks very much for pointing this out.

You look slim.

Not in that pic, but I'm 5ft 8 and overweight at your weight.

I’ve actually lost weight since this pic. Not much maybe 5 pounds . But bloody hell I am apparently still obese!

Absolutely not, they use that language to shame people.

I’m 5 foot 2 and after Christmas I weighed just over 11 stone and I was almost obese - I looked very similar to you in your picture so I would say I’m not shocked if you are obese or close. I think so many people are overweight when you compare yourself to other people you look normal - because you are - but medically you are not a healthy weight. I’m not an athlete or someone with some medical issue so I think BMI is a decent blunt tool for me. I’m 9st 5lbs now and I’m right at the top end of “healthy” and I still have a bit of flab on my legs and tummy so it’s really obvious now that when I was about a stone and 11lbs or so heavier then I was significantly overweight.

Your BMI is in the overweight category. I think when we hear obese we actually think of the American fork lifted out of bed size. What I would think is a little overweight is actually obese by the calculations. I suppose the only positive is that it can push us into action. I need to lose 7lbs to get back to a healthy weight. 1 stone until I feel comfortable.

Erm, are you me?!?

This is exactly my situation. I didn’t realise how unhappy I was at the higher weight until I lost it. Now I can’t imagine being over 2st heavier than I am now, I still have some way to go too!

@letmehaveathink Who is saying you’re obese, as your BMI is 28 which is overweight, not obese? Also, are you muscular/athletic? That can add to BMI without being a negative indicator for health.

'BMI is often not accurate' is such a cop out. Yes it's better at a population level, no it won't work for the most muscular athletes, yes it skews a bit when you consider the very tall compared to the very short, but for an average height, middle aged woman who doesn't lift heavy weights, it's going to be pretty close. Doesn't matter if her BMI is a point above or below what it's been calculated at if you took other things into consideration, she's still too heavy.

No OP, you don't look obese at all. You look nice. Hopefully your weight has no effect on your health at all. But you can't argue with numbers and increased risk so it's worth considering if it matters to you enough to make changes.

It doesnt take much to be in that category, its just a medical statistic rather than what you feel or look like

Its why people have it so wrong when they talk about 'the obese' as being somehow quite extreme weight wise, when you only need to be a few pounds more than overweight and you're obese

Nope. Just busy with those dogs 😄

No you do not look obese !!

Ha ha you’re fine

I input your numbers in the bmi calculator and it said you are 28 which is overweight not obese. You have miscalculated.

Tbh the calculations said I am obese when was pregnant. I mentioned it to the midwife who laughed her heart out and said: you are absolutely normal beautiful woman. If you were truly obese, we would tell you....

the bloody BMI said 30

People carry weight very differently. BMI is a useful guide. It’s a guide that works for most people.

I don’t think posting that photo is useful

Does ethnicity affect BMI? Is that due to frame size or something like that?

"apparently" according to what?

You've only said "the NHS website" but multiple people have used the NHS BMI calculator which said you'd have to be nearly a stone heavier to tip into the obese calculator, so where on the "nhs website" are you looking?
Calculate your body mass index (BMI) - NHS - NHS

This is your BMI after losing a bit of weight (like you said). @letmehaveathink

You're in the overweight, not obese, category (that starts at 30).

Normal healthy BMI is 25 so you're not far off that.